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The Thankful Project: Day 26 – A Criticism You’ve Received

So you know when I miss a blog post, when I’ve signed up for the challenge of writing for 28 days straight during the month of November?

Or when I did’t get that job I applied for?

Or when I miss a day of P90X or Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution?

Yep. All of that. It bothers me. I am a perfectionist at heart. Even border-line OCD.

I pretend like it’s okay to miss the blog post and that I’ll catch up later. The truth? It bothers me all day that I didn’t get a chance to post, when clearly I knew what the prompt was for Day 24.

That job? I pretend like it wasn’t the right fit. The truth? I self-examine and over analyze every single thing I do to figure out why I didn’t get it and what more I could do.

The workout’s? They’re over until next Monday, because no workout can ever begin mid-week and you must start again at Day 1, since you missed a workout somewhere in the series.

I say all of this to show that being a perfectionist is a double-edged sword. I work hard and put all of myself into everything I do, but I’m thankful for the criticism I received that says I’m too hard on myself.

I don’t know if it’ll ever change me, but it can remind me to put things into perspective. That it’s okay not to have blog posts scheduled and set-up if I wasn’t motivated or inspired to write. That although I may not have been the right person for the job I applied for, I’m not a failure. That workouts can start mid-week and that you don’t need to start over.

That it’s great to put so much of yourself in to all you do, but that you’ve got to take care of yourself as well.

I’m thankful I’m a perfectionist, and even more thankful for those who put it into perspective.

I’m linking up with Kenzie over at Chasing Happy for the month of November.Be sure to stop by and check it out!